On Breaking Free
by koalababay
Summary: His existence is meaningless. Or at least he thought so...until she came along. R/R!
1. Prologue

_A/N: _I can't believe I'm writing a story about something like this...it seems so cliché...so overdone...so impossible...and yet I really really REALLY wanted to write it! So I did! :D I know it seems a little iffy, but just give it a shot. You may be surprised. Or you may hate it entirely. Either way is fine I guess. :D Just give the first few parts a go to begin with, pretty please?

Disclaimer: I own neither FFVII or FFX/X-2

_Prologue_

**She doesn't know that something better is waiting for her beyond her own reality.**

Her own Home.

Her own shell of an existence.

She will find a wonderful kind of friendship in a place that she would have never dreamed to find it.

…

**He doesn't know that his life...his whole existence could change.**

It could change for the better.

It could change for the worse.

Could...could...could...but the problem was, he didn't know what he wanted anymore.

…

…

…

A girl in pink smiled as she thought to herself.

_**I can help.**_

…

_A/N: Just a quick note for further chapters, if you're gonna continue reading: this takes place a year after DoC and 3 years after the events of X-2.…please please please review?_


	2. The Encounter

_**Machine Faction, Djose – Spira**_

_Rikku_

She sighed, staring at the finished machina in front of her as she brushed her blonde bangs away from her face. She had been working hard, like Gippal asked her to, for the last several hours. She wondered how many of these things had she souped up today in that time. 20? 50? 100? She lost count after the first batch. Time for a break, she figured.

She reached over to wipe her greased hands on a stray rag she saw lying on the floor a few feet away.

Disgusting.

The rag was black after wiping only one of her hands!

"Knayd zup! Lady Rikku, you're amazing!" gasped a squeaky, awe-struck voice.

The sudden intrusion of sound startled her enough to drop the towel back on the ground. Turning around, Rikku saw that the owner of the voice was one of the other mechanics at the Machine Faction. She remembered his innocent face; he was one of the youngest workers at the temple. He was always popping in and out all throughout the area, seeing what everyone was up to, _especially_ Rikku. Some would call him inquisitive...and some would call him down-right annoying. At the moment, the kid's name escaped her recollection.

"Aww thanks!" she grinned back at the beaming boy in front of her before scratching her cheek in discomfort. She noticed that the boy had yet to take his eyes off of her. "Um..."

The boy continued to gape at her. After a few moments, she could have sworn she heard him mutter something that sounded creepily like _E muja oui_...which meant _I love you_ in the Common Language.

Rikku shuddered uneasily. "Umm..." She cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Hey! How are things goin', Cid's Girl?"

The blonde thanked all possible gods for Gippal's timely interruption. She whipped around to blind him with one of her magnificent, toothy grins. To her dismay, the one-eyed mechanic didn't even seem to notice her change of expression upon his arrival. So she wittily tried something else to get his complete attention. "I have a name, you know! And it's not _Cid's Girl_." She playfully punched his shoulder when he approached her work area.

He rubbed his chin distractedly. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know." He leaned over to inspect the work Rikku had done. "Not bad, kiddo. Not bad at all." He patted her on the head like she was a stray puppy he had found.

"I am not a kid!" Rikku huffed, feigning anger as she crossed her arms over her chest. Gippal _again _did not seem to notice her reaction as he continued to study her amazing work on the machina.

He laughed absentmindedly. "Sure you're not."

"Gippal? Why did you leave me in there by myself?" echoed an incredibly feminine voice from somewhere outside the room.

Rikku whirled around, a frown steadily forming on her face.

"Oh!" An Al Bhed woman appeared at the entrance to the room, bashfully holding her delicate hand over her mouth. "I didn't realize you weren't the only one in here, Gippal. I'm sorry!"

A smirk slowly spread across Gippal's features. "Not a problem, Lankya. Come on in and take a look at all the machina Cid's Girl fixed up!"

Lankya smiled, her long blonde hair swaying from side to side as she walked over to Rikku and Gippal. "Wow. This is amazing, Rikku. I guess I never fully realized how talented you were with this stuff."

"That's why I'm working here!" Rikku proclaimed with a smile. She found it difficult to be mean to a girl that was incredibly nice to her...even though Rikku was completely jealous of her.

Gippal wrapped his arm around Lankya's shoulders. "Yep. That's why I hired ya."

Lankya giggled as Gippal's hand trailed down her arm. Rikku felt sick to her stomach at the sight.

"You should give her the rest of the day off, Gip. She's done such a great job!" Lankya suggested with a smile. "She deserves a breather."

The one-eyed Al Bhed nodded in agreement. "Definitely. Take off, Cid's Girl. Enjoy the day. Supposedly it's nice out today. I wouldn't know because I've been in – OOF!" Gippal was cut off as Lankya elbowed him in the stomach, a deep blush staining her cheeks.

"Never mind," he mumbled, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

Rikku peeled her eyes away from the pair, trying to hide the hurt look on her face as she walked past them. She mumbled her thanks, escaping from the love fest as fast as she could. Before she knew it, she found herself outside, breathing in the fresh air and absorbing the radiant sunlight.

"It _is_ a nice day," Rikku said to herself, sniffling lightly and refusing to let any tears fall.

She ventured out to the bridge leading to the Moonflow path, her heart aching the entire time. She shook her head desperately, wishing that she didn't have such strong feelings for the one-eyed idiot and praying to all gods that she could somehow get over him.

He had someone else. Someone nice. And beautiful. Lankya.

They were happy. And Rikku should be happy for them. But it was so hard sometimes.

She placed her hand over her chest, staring down at the ground dejectedly. "Would it be a really bad thing if I actually got a happy ending, too?" She glanced up to see a single dove swirling through the air in mesmerizing patterns.

Everyone else got a happy ending. Except for her. Not like she was complaining, she thought. Rikku just honestly wanted to know why she was still alone when everyone else had found love and happiness right before her eyes. Gippal and Lankya. Yuna and Tidus. Paine and Baralai. Wakka and Lulu. Even Nooj and LeBlanc!

Was there something wrong with her? Like she was a defective machina or something?

She sighed, leaning on the railing of the bridge and staring off into the vast waters.

"It wouldn't be a bad thing," came a lovely, yet distant voice.

Rikku craned her neck to the side suddenly. "What?" she asked the mysterious girl who had just showed up. Rikku stared at the strange brunette, taking in her appearance. She was wearing a pink dress with a small short-sleeved jacket, and her hair was in an elegant plait hanging from a ponytail.

She was beautiful in every sense of the word.

"A happy ending for you wouldn't be a bad thing," the girl replied with a twinkle in her bright green eyes. "Follow me. I want to show you something."

A crease appeared in Rikku's brow as she stared doubtfully at the girl in front of her. "I'm...not too sure, you know. Who are you?"

The girl simply smiled. "Follow me," she repeated simply, turning around to walk away.

With a shrug, the Al Bhed started to follow. But suddenly, all Rikku could see was white. Everywhere. She couldn't hear. She couldn't speak. She couldn't see straight. She wasn't able to budge an inch to follow the strange visitor, for she was falling, falling, falling. And she found that she didn't care too much.

What was happening? Surely something interesting would come out of this, wouldn't it? This could perhaps be her escape from the monotonous cycle of life she had going for her with the Machine Faction.

Maybe her happy ending was still waiting for her.

But then again, maybe not.

**She doesn't know that something better is waiting for her beyond her own reality.**

_**Shinra Headquarters, Edge – Gaia**_

_Reno_

He slammed his stack of papers down angrily. "Dammit," he growled, wishing that he could take out his EMR and prod the damn reports until they went up in a fiery column of destruction. "I need a break." He pushed off from his desk as he and his chair scooted several feet away from the work. Closing his eyes, he tried to ignore the throbbing headache that was now a constant companion to him, even in sleep.

For the last several months, he had been asking himself why he was still working for Shinra, after all this time with the infamous company. The Turks had officially 'disbanded' after the Meteor crisis, but because of their superb skills and lack of desire to seek other jobs, they had continued their work with the President. There was another reason too, he supposed, and it was the reason that no one would ever dare to hire them for _any _type of job, in _any _circumstance.

Just look at them. The Turks: fearsome, intelligent, powerful, precise, killing-machines.

Rufus' pawns.

Reno snorted, almost falling off his chair when he thought of how pathetic Rufus' state of Geostigma would have been without the Turks' help. Whether or not he chose to admit it, Rufus needed them.

All of them. And yes, he even needed Reno.

The redheaded Turk was good at his job, if he could say so himself. Which he actually did say. Quite often actually, to the complete chagrin of anyone who was listening.

But lately, his job wasn't giving him the type of satisfaction and contentment that it always used to. And he had no idea why that was, which annoyed the hell out of him. It was like he was a zombie, just going through the actions of day-to-day tasks, but never really comprehending or caring about what he was doing.

Nothing could get that extra bounce in his step to return. Not alcohol, nor one-nighters. Not even annoying Rufus Shinra to no end!

It was weird.

For the first time in his life, Reno did not know what he wanted.

And it scared him.

Letting out a sigh, he opened his eyes. Was the headache still there? Pssht, of course it was.

"I definitely need a damn break," he said, standing up from his chair and walking out of his office.

As he passed Elena's office, he heard her shout out, "Where do you think you're going! You still hav-"

But he ignored her and continued to walk towards the elevators. He needed to get out of the building. Get some fresh air. Maybe buy an ice cream cone or some random shit like that. He honestly didn't care. He just wanted _out._

The elevator dinged its happy tune as it opened up to the main floor. He silently thanked the gods that there wasn't anyone important on this floor to pester him about doing his job today. It would be an easy getaway.

He calmly strode towards the entrance doors, a determined look etching across his features.

The doors whooshed open and he smiled as the cool breeze kissed his face.

"Finally."

**He doesn't know that his life...his whole existence could change.**

_**Edge Outskirts – Gaia**_

_Rikku_

She blinked her eyes open in confusion. "Wh-what happened?" Sitting up slowly and carefully, she glanced at her surroundings. "Where'd that girl go...?"

Rikku stood up, gently brushing the dirt off her dark green skirt and readjusting her yellow tank top. Not for the first time, she was grateful for the modification of her thief outfit; it got a little cold sometimes in just the bikini top, she realized.

"Where the heck am I?" she wondered aloud, biting her lip nervously. "Uh-oh..." None of the scenery was familiar to her. The sky even seemed _off _somehow, but she couldn't explain to herself what the reason for it was.

She gasped when her eyes fell upon a huge sword sticking up from the hard ground. Someone strong must have left it there, she believed. Someone strong like Auron. She nodded, noticing the similarities between this weapon and Auron's own massive sword.

A cool breeze blew by and she hugged her sleeved arms around her half-revealed midriff to stay warm. "What am I gonna do...?"

Staring off into the distance, she noticed what looked to be a city. It was pretty far away from where she was, but it was her best (and only) option for now. "Come on, Rikku," she muttered to herself. "Gotta be strong. Yunie and Dr. P aren't here to help protect you now..."

With determination plastered on her face, she started her trek to the unknown city.

…

Lady Luck was with her. She didn't encounter any type of threat or danger along the way. And now she was only about a mile or two away from the city's entrance.

"Lnyb!" she exclaimed when she sensed more than saw wolves approach her from behind. It seemed like she wasn't going to reach her destination without a fight after all. So much for Lady Luck...

With the precision and speed of a thief and ex-guardian, Rikku whipped out her twin daggers and crouched down into a battle stance. "Come on, meanies!" She turned around to dart towards them. "Let's go!"

_**Edge – Gaia**_

_Reno_

"Thank you very much, sir. You have a terrrrific day now, ya hear?" A pedophilic-looking man with a snaggletooth handed Reno his ice cream cone, an all-too-friendly smile on his face.

What a lowlife, Reno thought. What a pathetic job to have when you're a middle-aged man.

The redhead muttered his thanks as he walked away to enjoy his ice cream cone in peace. "Mmm." Reno moaned in delight at his first bite of the vanilla scoop. "Damn, this is good."

This break was needed. And so worth it.

His headache was finally starting to disappear slightly and his mind had finally stopped asking itself questions about everything he'd been doing in his life.

This break was _definitely _needed.

Seeing a vacant park bench just across the street, Reno purposefully strode towards it. His headache was almost completely gone. Maybe that meant that if he tried to take a quick nap on the bench, it would be uninterrupted sleep for the first time in a _very_ long time? He figured he might as well try. "Nothing to lose," he muttered.

Reno shoved the last bit of ice cream cone into his mouth, ignoring the slight brain-freeze that was starting to develop, and he took a seat on the park bench. "This is the life. No Elena pestering the hell outta me. No Rufus glaring at me. No Tseng reprimanding me like I'm a damn kid." He didn't think about what they were going to say once he got back to his office. He didn't really care, to be truthful. Reno was simply going to sleep his problems away.

…

A dove flew by his face, startling him out of the almost-unconscious state he was in. "Fuck! Stupid bird!" He stood up to swat the creature away from where he was trying to relax, but something unusual caught his eye. He stood up slowly, cocking his brow as he stared at something across the street. "...the hell?"

_**Edge – Gaia**_

_Rikku_

She was so proud of herself right now. She'd managed to take on five huge wolves. All by herself! It got a little scary for her a few times during the fight, but she pulled through. She just wished she had her item pouch with her now. Then she could whip up an awesome Al Bhed potion to deal with what happened to her leg.

Rikku bit her lip, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to gaze down at the full damage to her leg. There was a small bite mark and several deep and lengthy gashes from the fiends' claws. She wasn't going to lie to herself … it hurt really really _really _badly.

Shaking her head and willing herself to ignore the pain, she continued to limp down the sidewalk. Without a clue as to where she was or what she was going to do, she figured that maybe if she saw someone who looked sort of nice, she could see if they would be willing to help her get back home...

"Hey!"

Rikku froze in place, completely terrified. Was someone yelling at her?

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Yep, someone was definitely yelling at her. Uh-oh!

She turned around guiltily to see a serious-looking man approaching her. He was dressed in a way that she wasn't used to seeing. Black jacket, black pants, and a white button-up underneath. He looked kinda scary, in her opinion. The way he was walking towards her...and those weird scars underneath his eyes...who the heck _was_ this guy?

"I...I was-" Rikku gulped nervously, cutting off the rest of her own sentence. This guy was walking with sheer purpose in every footstep. "Umm..." What was she supposed to say?

The man finally reached the sidewalk. He gave her an unreadable look before glancing down at her injured leg. "What did you do to yourself?"

"Well...I was on my way here, but a group of fiends tried to hurt me," she said in what she hoped was a pretty calm voice. Rikku couldn't help but be a little shaken at the moment. She didn't know where she was or how she got there, and now this intimidating man was questioning her for no reason. "Er...I guess they _did _hurt me, actually." So maybe there _was _a logical reason for his questioning. Her leg looked disgusting.

"Fiends?" the man questioned, cocking a red brow. Then he let out a small, but sharp laugh. "Oh, you mean monsters. What kind?"

Rikku crossed her arms over her chest, trying her best to hide the uncertainty she was feeling. "Um, yeah. They were wolves." She shuddered at the memory. "Stupid meanies," she muttered under her breath.

The man's bright blue eyes widened before he let out a slow whistle. "Damn, kid. How you managed to fight through wolves with only a few marks to show for it, I'll never know..." he trailed off.

Rikku looked to the ground. Then she mumbled something unintelligible.

"Come again?" the redheaded man asked with a frown on his face.

She looked back up into his bright eyes. "I said I'm not a kid, you know." A tinge of sadness stabbed her heart when the image of Gippal's face appeared in her mind, but she quickly willed it away. He always called her a kid. And _Cid's Girl. _"Um...my name's Rikku!" she chirped in as happy a voice as she could manage, a small smile slowly appearing on her face. She decided she didn't want anyone calling her by anything except her _name _in this strange place_._ "What's yours?"

The man seemed slightly taken-aback by her sudden friendliness. "Reno." He took a few steps closer to her. "...care if I help you?" He motioned to her leg.

Rikku smiled whole-heartedly. Maybe this was a nice person after all? "That would be great!" Before she knew it, she was swept off her feet. Literally. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing?"

Reno sighed, glancing down at the bundle of limbs in his arms. "Don't want ya to walk on this leg any more than necessary. Just let me help you and I'll be outta your way."

Rikku's brow furrowed. It sounded like Reno was silently questioning why he was even bothering to help her. Well to be honest, she was wondering the same thing. He was a complete stranger to her. Was this just some random act of kindness or something like that?

She let out a troubled sigh. "Okay."

He walked over to a park bench across the street, carefully holding the petite blonde the entire time. "Alright, Rikku." He set her down on the bench as gently as he could. "Give me a second..." he mumbled as he started to dig through his pockets to find something. She tilted her head to the side as she watched him search.

"There we go," he muttered, pulling a green orb out of one of his pockets. "And they say I never listen to 'Lena bout emergency equipment…" He whispered something that sounded like _cure _to Rikku before closing his eyes and softly placing his hands over the wounded parts of her leg.

Rikku was in awe. Was that some weird type of machina? "What is that thing?" she asked suddenly, completely oblivious to the fact that her leg was now as good as new.

Reno opened his eyes, one at a time. "Huh? You gotta be kiddin' me! This is a cure materia." He looked at her like she was crazy. "You've never seen materia before?"

The blonde shook her head a few times, stray braids whipping into her face in the process. "I've never even heard of...materia. Not once in my whole life!"

Reno cocked a brow. "Where did you say you were from?"

She bit her lip nervously. "Uh...I'm not from around here." She looked around curiously, admiring the interesting buildings and machinery throughout the area. She'd have to figure out how everything worked here. Maybe take apart a few things in the process, steal a few scraps for herself for future use... "Where is _here_, anyway?" she asked softly.

Reno stood up suddenly, staring down at her like she just confessed that she was secretly a chocobo. "...This is Edge," he stated slowly and calmly. "Did you hit your head while you fought those wolves, Rikku?" He ran a shaky hand through his spiky red hair. "How the hell can you live on this planet without knowing about materia…or even Edge?"

She shrugged, trying to hide her nervousness. At this point, Rikku knew that she was DEFINITELY not in Spira anymore. Where she was, she had no clue. But at least she knew the name of one city. "Like I said, I'm not from around here." She stood up quickly, not bothering to check if her leg was fully functional again or not. It didn't matter anyway; Reno had completely cured it. "Well, thanks for the help!" She patted Reno on the shoulder. "It was really nice of you."

With an extra spring in her step, Rikku started to skip away.

_Reno_

His gut was telling him that this girl was lying about something. But he had no idea what that something was. "W-Wait!" he shouted after the girl. Leave it to a Turk to turn liars into pretty little … eh, whatever the opposite of a liar is.

She turned around to face him, eyes lit up in confusion. "Yeah?" she voiced with a smile.

He took a few jogging paces towards her. When he looked down at her, he noticed several things. For one, this girl was probably one of the most beautiful girls – scratch that – _women _he'd ever seen in his life. Another thing he noticed was that her bright green eyes were mesmerizing; they had dark green swirls circling around her pupils. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before.

He forgot about whatever he was thinking about before he made eye contact with her. Silence ensued for a few moments in his stricken state. "Uh, you expect to find your way around a city you didn't even know the name of?" he managed to spit out, wondering why the fuck he was still trying to help out a random _(beautiful) _girl. What the hell did he have to gain from it?

He was a Turk, goddammit. Not some weak-ass charity worker. And plus, he still didn't even know what she was lying about. If she was lying. Wait, when did Turks second-guess themselves? What did that mean he was doing right now in his own mind? _Well, shit._

She smiled at him. It was a blindingly bright toothy smile. He found the corner of his lips tugging upward the tiniest bit just from seeing such an innocent, carefree smile. He didn't think such innocence still existed in a shitty, rundown place like Edge. Or maybe he was just more surprised that a smile like that was directed at him.

"I'll be fine," she stated simply, giggling a few times. "I'm tougher than you think, you know." She turned to head toward gods only knew where. "Oh, thanks again for the help! It was really nice meeting you!"

There she went. Reno watched her skip away with a huge smile on her face.

She was...different.

Nothing like anyone he'd ever met before.

…

_**Shinra Headquarters, Edge – Gaia**_

Reno wandered back into his office, hours after he had left for his break. The paperwork was still sitting on his desk, unfinished. And he _still_ wanted to light it up in flames.

"Where were you?"

He didn't even have to turn around to know that Elena was standing at his door, hands on her hips, and an annoyed look on her face.

"Doesn't matter," he muttered.

The sound of heels clacking against the marble floor greeted his ears. Elena was approaching him from behind. "What...what's wrong with you lately, Reno?" Her voice came out as barely a whisper. How uncharacteristic of her, he thought.

The redhead whipped around to face her. "I have no idea what the fuck you're talking about."

She flinched at the venom in his voice. The blonde Turk had obviously not been expecting that type of a reaction from Reno. "Well...you haven't been yourself at all the past few months. Everybody's noticed."

"_Myself__?"_ he spat back, grimacing at the truth in Elena's words. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

Elena sighed, placing her hand to her forehead in exasperation. "Reno," she groaned. "You seem unhappy. Not like you've were ever ecstatically happy, but..." she trailed off with another sigh. "What's happened to make you so completely different than before?"

Reno closed his eyes as he noticed that his headache was returning, full-force. He mentally cursed Elena for her _impeccable _timing. As always.

"Nothing happened, Laney," he replied, eyes still closed. "Can you please leave now?"

He sensed more than saw Elena shake her head defiantly. "Not until I get some answers."

His eyes snapped open. "Answers?" A laugh escaped from his throat. Then another. Then a few more. "You want to know answers. You know what...why the hell do you even care so much, Elena?" The female Turk flinched yet again at his angry tone, which made Reno instantly regret how he was handling things.

Regret wasn't enough to make him stop, though. It never was.

Elena walked towards him until she was close enough to see right into his soul. Well, that was what he thought, at least. "As much as this _kills _me to say..." she took a deep breath, "I miss the old Reno. The one that would pull pranks on innocent employees, steal my coffee and replace it with burnt onion juice, and perform his job as a Turk to the best of his ability. And those are just to name a few things." She shook her head again. "Where'd he go?"

Reno wanted to say, _He's dead, _but even _he _knew that saying anything like that would be very melodramatic. Reno was far from a melodramatic person. So instead, he said, "Dunno. Who cares?"

"You are so infuriating, do you know that!" Elena yelled into his face, causing him to slink back a fraction of an inch. She whipped around to storm out of his office. Right as she reached the door, however, she paused. "You've never given a damn about anyone other than yourself...but that doesn't mean people don't give a damn about you." Then she left him there, alone.

Reno blinked, the image of the innocent young blonde he had just met earlier in the day instantly springing to mind. His brow furrowed at the image.

Did he care about anybody but himself?

What was the point of caring?

…

_Was_ there even a point?

Sometimes, he honestly didn't know.

_**Seventh Heaven, Edge – Gaia**_

_Cloud_

The smell of roasted chicken wafted through the air, up the stairs, down the hallway, and into his room. He closed his eyes to savor the mouth-watering scent. Mondays were the best day of the week for Cloud. Tifa always roasted something delicious in the crock-pot for dinner on those nights.

He assumed it would be another couple minutes before she'd send Marlene or Denzel –

"Hey, Cloud!" Marlene's voice echoed from down in the bar area.

– to tell him that dinner was ready.

He smirked. It seemed like Tifa was early tonight. Cloud opened his eyes slowly before standing up to walk downstairs for dinner.

"CLOUD!" Marlene shouted again before she noticed that he was already at the base of the steps.

"I heard you the first time," Cloud remarked with a smirk. "You know I'd never miss Tifa's roast dinner."

The barmaid let out a small laugh from over by the counter. "Thanks, Cloud. Dinner should be ready pretty soon, but that's not why Marlene was calling you down here."

The blond furrowed his brow in confusion. "Hn?" He gave Barret's daughter a questioning look.

Marlene bit her lip, glancing down at her feet so she wouldn't have to make eye contact with Cloud. "Out with it, Mar..." Tifa chided as she absentmindedly checked the crock-pot and the other entrees that she was preparing for the meal. "Cloud needs to know what happened."

The ex-Soldier suddenly became increasingly wary.

The little girl sighed, scuffing her left foot on the ground before looking back up at Cloud. "Denzel and I were playing outside...and uh, well...we ehh, we accidentally hit Fenrir with a baseball! I think we hurt it pretty bad."

"Badly," Tifa corrected, but no one seemed to hear her.

The other culprit walked through the main doors from outside with a guilty look on his face. He walked over to Marlene to grab her hand. "We're really sorry, Cloud!" Denzel said, an abashed look on his face.

Cloud's brow furrowed again. "I'm sure it didn't do any damage. Fenrir was built to resist-"

"Umm, I don't know about that," Marlene quickly interrupted.

Denzel nodded in agreement. "You know how when you tell me and Marlene about fighting and stuff, you always say that everyone has at least one weak spot?" The two children shared a quick glance. "Well...we're pretty sure that your motorcycle had a weak spot, too."

Cloud mentally cursed every god in existence. Nothing could have happened to his Fenrir, right? "Motorcycles don't have weak sp-"

"Well, it lost its balance and tipped over-" Marlene interrupted.

"-and a couple pieces fell off," Denzel finished.

A few more curses unconsciously floated through the recesses of Cloud's mind. "W...Where did the ball hit?"

Denzel and Marlene shrugged at the same time, glancing at the each other to see if the answer would be the same on both their parts.

Placing a gloved hand over his face for a few seconds, Cloud collected himself. "I'm going to check and see how bad the damage was. I'll...be back in a few minutes, Teef."

The barmaid nodded sweetly from behind the counter. "We won't start dinner without you."

He silently made his way outside, around the corner, and towards where he knew his beloved bike was parked. He had to clamp his jaw shut to keep it from dropping in surprise. There were pieces of Fenrir scattered all around where the bike was tipped over...and in the midst of the scrap metal sat a blonde girl with her back to Cloud. She was tinkering with the pieces curiously. He had no idea who she was, but if she knew any better, she'd get away from his motorcycle before things got scary.

Cloud didn't get angry very easily. It usually took annoying Turks or crazy silver-haired men to do the job.

...but he could honestly admit that he was almost at his boiling point right now...

_**Edge – Gaia**_

_Rikku_

As she continued to trot around the strange city alone, Rikku noticed that there were a _lot_ of things for her to study and gape at curiously. Those..._materia _things that Reno used to heal her with earlier...were for sale at a tiny shop sitting outside of a random grocery store. She tilted her head to the side in interest, wondering why on Spi – er, _this Planet –_ those things would be sold outside.

She glanced around the street to find that there were several other little shops outside, each selling different things. Skipping over to take a look, she gasped at what she saw.

Items. Everywhere!

And they looked familiar to what she was used to utilizing with her mixing techniques!

She didn't have her item pouch with her at that point. It was back in her room...at the Machine Faction. Her heart dropped at the thought. _Gippal. _He and the Machine Faction were so far away from wherever she was now.

"I should probably stock up," the blonde Al Bhed thought aloud. Suddenly, her heart dropped again. What if this place didn't use the type of money she had? Maybe she should ask... "Um, excuse me?"

The old man behind the counter glanced away from the magazine he was reading to look at her. "Hmm?"

"How much are the potions?" she asked nervously, crossing her fingers behind her back in hope.

"Ehh..." The man stroked his snow white beard a few times, obviously trying to remember. "Oh! Potions? They're one hundred gil a piece." He smiled at her in an expectant manner. "So, how many for ya today?"

It was a struggle for Rikku to contain her excitement. 100 gil! This place used _gil_, too! Just like Spira. Lady Luck _was _with her, after all! "I'll take ten of 'em, please." The man whipped him out to her in a flash and she exchanged her coins for the purchase. "Thanks, mister!"

"Certainly. Stop by again sometime," he answered, sitting back down before opening his magazine up again.

…

An ice cream truck drove past Rikku for what seemed like the tenth time in the last hour. She awkwardly waved to the man in the front seat as he winked at her. What a creeper, she thought.

Shrugging off weird feeling she got from the man's attention, she continued to wander down the streets of Edge. No destination was particularly in mind. She would take a closer look at things that appeared interesting to her, and ignore things that were unappealing.

It was a good plan, she thought to herself with a smile. A very good pl–

"What the heck is that!" she gasped out when something wonderful caught her eye. She darted over to it as fast as she could. It was beautiful, whatever it was. Back in Spira, this thing would definitely classify under the _machina _category. But from everything she saw today and all the things she overheard, she had a feeling that the word 'machina' didn't exist in this place.

Hmm. She'd still call this wonderful work of art a machina. Simply because she could. _Heh heh._

The machina was shaped like some sort of one-person hover car, she thought. The only weird thing about it was the fact that there were a few pieces broken off of it. And it was tipped over onto the ground.

"Score!" A huge smile spread across her cheeks. "This must be someone's garbage." She plopped down onto the ground, rubbed her hands together a few times, and started the machina-examination process. In other words, she was going to figure out all the major parts of it before keeping some scraps for herself.

She had gotten through about three-fourths of the process when something interrupted her.

"HEY!" an angry voice suddenly exclaimed. "What're you doing with Fenrir?"

Fenrir? Oh! She wondered if this type of machina have a specific name here…

She immediately stood up and spun around to face the owner of the voice. "Oh, heheh. Sorry?" she apologized to the man that had just walked over. "I thought this was somebody's trash 'cause it was left all the way out here in pretty bad condi-"

"Fenrir is not anyone's garbage," the man interrupted her with a stony glare.

Rikku gulped before bravely taking a few steps closer to the spiky-haired blond man. "Um. I'm really sorry, you know. I had no idea this machina belonged to you!"

The blond's brow furrowed in confusion. "Machina?" he asked.

"Oopsies!" The Al Bhed slapped her gloved hand to her forehead. "I mean this...uh...this hover vehicle...thingy." She flashed the man a bright smile. "I really am sorry!"

Now the man looked more confused than angry. "That's not a...I mean, it's a motorcycle," he stated in a monotonous voice, one brow quirked up. "What did you say you were doing with it?"

She bit her lip. "Um...I didn't say actually."

The man crossed his arms, obviously waiting for an answer.

_This guy seems scarier than Auron! And meaner!_

"I...I was just looking at it!" she found herself blurting out. "I've always thought stuff like ma–m–m–motorcycles were cool. Heheh!"

"What's in your pocket?" he asked, glancing down at the pouches attached to her skirt. The frown on his face was deepening further, if it was even possible.

Rikku gulped nervously again, trying to hide her guilty blush. "Well, you see...I thought this was somebody's garbage. Like I said! So I figured it wouldn't do any harm if I took a few pieces for myself..." She bowed her head, turning her pockets inside out to expel the numerous parts she had shoved in there.

At least she was being honest. She was proud of herself. Hightailing it out of there would have been the first thing she would have done if placed in this situation a few years ago, but for some reason, she wanted to be sincere and mature in this new place. Maybe it was because Reno had generously helped her out earlier...and she would have felt _really_ guilty if she repaid his kindness by robbing from some random person.

She would've felt really ungrateful, too.

Cloud approached her, glancing down at the bike with a serious expression on his face. "Are those the only parts you stole?"

Rikku flinched as he put an extra emphasis on the word _stole. _"Uh-huh." She blinked a few times before deciding to look him square in his oddly-glowing eyes. "Look, mister...uh..."

"Cloud," he supplied monotonously.

"Right. So, Mr. Cloud. Let's make a deal!" She rubbed her hands together a few times excitedly. "I can help you fix up your mach– ma– eh, your _motorcycle_ better than it was before! But only if you, um, promise to stop looking at me like that. Has anyone ever told you that your glare is creepy?" She giggled a few times, but cut herself off when Cloud didn't remove the dead serious expression from his face.

Suddenly, the scary blond let out a sigh. "I've heard it once or twice," he said with a barely noticeable smirk.

Rikku smiled happily. She got him to do something other than frown! "Well, I can see why, ya big lug." She punched him in the shoulder before whipping her hand back in pain. "Ouchies!"

Cloud rolled his eyes when he noticed what the blonde had just managed to do to herself. "You hurt yourself." It was more of a comment than a query.

She looked back up at him with an innocent twinkle in her eye. "Nope, I'm fine. Your shoulder hurt a lot more than I was expecting it to, though. That's all."

"Girls like you should be careful when y-"

"Girls like ME?" Rikku interrupted, placing her hands on her hips with a dangerous look on her face. "What's that supposed to mean? You don't even _know _me, mister!"

Cloud rolled his eyes again. "Whatever. Just fix my bike."

The sound of a door opening and closing greeted both their ears. "CLOUD? DINNERTIME!" an adorably girly voice proclaimed. "TIFA SAYS WE CAN DEAL WITH FENRIR LATER!"

Rikku smiled at how cute the little girl that just shouted for Cloud had sounded. "Who's that?" she found herself asking before she even realized it. "She seems really sweet!"

"That's Marlene," Cloud answered with a mumble. He turned to walk back to where the girl's voice had echoed from. Pausing for a moment, he turned to face her again. "If you fix it, I'll let you off the hook."

_Let me off the hook? _Rikku tilted her head to the side in amusement. "Sounds splendiferous! Whatever you say, Mr. Cloud."

"It's Cloud," he corrected before walking away.

Rikku let out a heavy sigh when she was sure she was alone. "What a weird guy." She blinked. "All the people here are weird!" She plopped onto the ground again to start fixing Fenrir. "I mean, who names their motorcycles, anyway!" Pausing for a moment, she scratched her cheek in thought. "Well maybe they think I'm weird too..."

Letting out another sigh, she shrugged. "Oh, well. Can't worry about that, I guess." A smile found its way back onto her face when she started fixing Fenrir. Rikku was always in her element when it came to anything that involved machinery and mechanics. "Let's fix this bad boy up."

_**Apt. 539, Edge – Gaia**_

_Reno_

Walking into his apartment and shrugging his jacket off like it was an unnecessary layer of skin, Reno jumped onto his beloved loveseat to lounge. "Ahh," he groaned, closing his eyes as he rubbed his forehead with his hand. "Damn migraine..."

Another hour or two wasted up at Headquarters, and Reno didn't even get halfway done with the mountain of paperwork and reports. He cursed the existence of whoever came up with the idiotic idea for the damn things in the first place.

To finish off his day, he was back home, sitting on his chair, doing absolutely nothing. This was what Reno did almost every single night after a stressful day at work.

Missions for Shinra lately had become scarce, so he couldn't occupy his time in that regard. Reno had also lost his drinking partner in Rude (he and Elena were starting to get serious). The only other thing that had the potential to perk him up was a one-night-stand, but he truly didn't feel like wasting his time with those thoughtless bimbos tonight. Reno sighed hopelessly. Since when had he been this boring?

He sat straight up, completely frustrated with himself. "I need to get out of this damn room!"

Walking over to pick up his filthy jacket off the floor again, he grabbed his keys before slamming his door on his way out of the apartment.

…

"Hmm." Reno scratched his chin in thought as he saw the neon sign for the Seventh Heaven bar. He had purposely been avoiding that bar lately. Instead, he always chose to go to some other bar. The quality was never up to par with Tifa's, though. And Reno could never stop himself from noticing that little fact. "Seventh Heaven it is," he mumbled, waving his hand through the air sarcastically.

…

Reno would be lying if he said that Tifa and the other patrons weren't surprised to see him. On the contrary, they were shocked. Had it really been that long since he'd showed up here to get plastered?

One more sweep of the perimeter convinced him. Nothing but awestruck faces greeted his eyes. He guessed it _had_ been too long.

"'Sup, Lockhart," he drawled with a smirk, walking towards the bar counter. "Miss me?"

Tifa narrowed her eyes, studying him cautiously. "Reno. What brings you back here?"

He looked around at all the other customers. "Well. I'd say I'm at a bar to get drunk."

"Do you have to be such an ass?" Tifa remarked with a look akin to annoyance before shaking her head. "What d'you want to drink?" She gave him an expectant look.

"Hmm." He tapped his chin in thought. Why _was _he acting like such an ass tonight? For amusement? He had no clue. "Surprise me, Lockhart."

She nodded once, prying her eyes away from his stony gaze.

He sighed, taking a seat at one of the bar stools. Something hanging along the handrail going up the stairs caught Reno's eye. He slid off the stool to get a closer look at it. "Whoa." He gently wrapped his hand in the smooth material of the orange-yellow scarf. "Did Cloud get a new accessory to add to his collection?" he asked sardonically.

He heard Tifa sigh from behind the bar counter. "That actually doesn't belong to any of us-"

"Then why's it hanging here like that?" he interrupted, still staring at the material. It seemed familiar somehow...

"If you must know," Tifa said in a bored voice, "that scarf belongs to a girl that's staying the night here tonight. She must've left it there on her way upstairs."

Reno snapped his head back to Tifa's face. "Girl?"

"Yeah." The barmaid absentmindedly dumped a few ice cubes into her professional brew. "Your drink's done, Reno."

"Oh." He wandered back over to his stool. "So...uh...who's this girl?" He had a feeling he already knew who it was. But he just wanted to make sure.

Tifa started gathering dirty mugs so she could wash them in the sink. Then she looked at him curiously. He could practically read her mind: she was wondering why on Gaia he cared so much.

"Why do you want to know?"

_Bingo. _But he chose to shrug, trying to emphasis his nonchalance. "Just makin' conversation with ya," he lied through his teeth.

"Her name's Rikku," she supplied cautiously. "And she's a good person."

Reno mentally agreed with the barmaid. From what he had seen of her earlier that day, Rikku had seemed like a genuinely kind and carefree girl. "Why's she here?" he wondered. "Does she know you guys?" Maybe Rikku was in from out of town? Were Tifa and Cloud her old acquaintances? It wouldn't surprise him...

Tifa shook her head, immediately quelling all of Reno's earlier assumptions. "It's a funny story, actually."

Reno leaned a litter closer as she spoke, very curious. "Yeah? And...?"

The barmaid smirked. "You're certainly inquisitive tonight, Reno. Why the sudden change? You usually get plastered over there in the corner," she motioned towards an isolated part of the bar, "before stumbling back to your apartment, completely drunk." She sighed. "I've forced Cloud to make sure you got home safely a few of those times. I don't understand how you can–"

The redheaded Turk put a hand up, instantly silencing the busty brunette. "Are you my mother or my bartender?" Then he let out a few laughs. Surprisingly, Tifa joined in as well.

"Well, _sorry. _But it's true."

He shook his head, taking a huge, stinging gulp of the whiskey Tifa had prepared for him. "So tell me this funny story." Were they actually having a conversation without him making a complete jackass of himself?

…

Hmm, he supposed they were. Cool.

Tifa smiled. "Well, Marlene and Denz were playing with their baseball earlier today...and they somehow managed to hit Fenrir with the ball, knock off a few important pieces, and tip it over."

Reno whistled. "Damn."

"I know," she said with a nod. "Cloud went outside to see how bad the damage was, but when he got out there, he found Rikku sitting there, taking more of the motorcycle apart out of pure interest." She grabbed a wet towel to clean her hands off with it. "The two of them talked for a little bit. Then Rikku promised to restore it to an even better condition because she felt bad for taking some of it apart."

He whistled again. "She some kind o' mechanic like that pilot friend o' yours?" _Highwind_ was the name, he suddenly remembered.

Tifa shrugged. "That's the thing. We have no idea who Rikku is or where she's from." To Reno, it seemed like Tifa truly cared about this girl and wanted to help in any way, shape or form, regardless of the minimal time she'd known her. That was just how Tifa Lockhart was. Just take look at the orphans she'd taken in during her time in Edge.

"Cloud felt bad for being so rude to her about his bike so he invited her inside for dinner," she continued. "I'd never seen anyone eat so much, so _fast _in my life..." Tifa trailed off with a distant look in her ruby red eyes. "We let her stay the night because she didn't have anywhere else to go. Cloud thinks Rikku's from Kalm, for some reason. But she never said, so we don't know for sure."

Reno licked his lips. He was already starting to feel the buzz from his drink. Tifa really was one hell of a bartender. "I know you guys still hate the Turks an' all that but if you want us to look up anything...or see if we can help in any way, that'd be fine."

Surprise dawned across Tifa's features. "R-Really?" she gasped out. "That's...that's really decent of you to do, Reno."

"I may act like a dick, but I'm not completely heartless, Tifa," he remarked, downing his drink with one final gulp. After mentioning it to Tifa, he realized that it wouldn't be hard at all to hack into restricted files on his computer up at HQ. Reno and research didn't get along...but he figured that this type of work wouldn't be as boring, so he'd manage.

"Thanks for the pick-me-up, Lockhart." Reno dropped a few coins onto the counter. "Catcha later."

"Bye, Reno."

He exited Seventh Heaven with a new purpose in mind. Since missions for Shinra and binge drinking with Rude were out of the question, he might as well spend some of his spare time doing effective things instead of sitting on his couch in a catatonic state all the time.

"Who is that girl?" he muttered to himself as he made his way to Shinra Headquarters.

A/N: Yes, I sent Rikku to the FF7 world... Gotta problem with that? *cowers* Goodness, I hope not. Anyway, _REVIEWS _would be lovely! Let me know what you think. Good? Bad? Hopeless? Some potential?

_And thank you so much for reading! =_D _More will be on the way soon, if you're interested..._


	3. The Help

_**Machine Faction, Djose – Spira**_

_Gippal_

With an over-exaggerated yawn, he sat up in bed and scratched his head in confusion. "...'s it morning already?" he drawled sleepily.

From next to him, he heard a dainty giggle. "Sure is, Gip." Lankya sat up and stretched out as well. "Did you sleep well?"

Gippal smirked, staring at his beautiful girlfriend as the sunlight cascaded in through the crevices of his window. "With you right next to me, how could I not?"

Lankya rolled her bright green eyes, flipping her long hair over her shoulder. "You tell that to all the girls?"

He let out a fake grumble before pulling her to him for a kiss. "O' course I do." His girlfriend detached herself from him and got out of bed in a flash.

"You're impossible, Gippal," she remarked in an even voice.

"Ahh, come on! You know I was just kidding, Kya," he whined, falling back onto his comfortable pillow. "You're the only girl I could ever want. So come back to bed and stay with me for another hour. We have tons o' time before we gotta do Faction biz..."

From over by the dresser, he heard her laugh good-naturedly. "Yeah?" she voiced. Turning his head slightly, he caught a good glimpse of his girl pulling a t-shirt over her head. "Well, I actually have to be somewhere in like ten minutes. That's why I can't stay here with you. Sorry, bud."

He quirked a blond brow. "Where? It's so early!" Figuring that he should probably start the day as well, regardless of what time it was, Gippal got out of bed with a dramatic sigh.

"It's not actually that early," Lankya said with a smile. "I told Tygo I'd help him finish up his research on the new excavation machina this morning."

The young mechanic's face drifted into Gippal's thoughts. "Is that the kid that's in love with Cid's Girl? He's weird."

Lankya bent over to finish putting her shoes on. "Yeah, I guess he does have a pretty huge crush on Lady Rikku." She straightened up, readjusting her shirt. "But that's not nice to say he's weird. Ty's just...different."

"If by different you mean _messed up_," Gippal muttered under his breath. Lankya's warning glare told him she'd overheard what he just said. He scratched the back of his head nervously. "Eh heh? I mean that in the nicest way possible."

The corner's of her lips twitched, signaling that she wasn't completely angry with him at the moment. "Hey, before I leave, do you know where I could find Rikku? I meant to ask her a question about what I'm helping Tygo with today. Just to see if I had the concept straight, ya know? But I haven't seen her since yesterday afternoon."

Gippal scrunched his brow in thought. "You know what? I haven't seen her since yesterday either." A weird feeling emerged in the pit of his stomach. He scratched his chin with another yawn. "I wonder where she took off to..."

Lankya tilted her head slightly. "Seriously? I wonder where she is, too." They both shrugged after a few moments of thought. "Should we look for her?" the long-haired Al Bhed asked her boyfriend.

He made a contemplative noise. "Well...when Cid's Girl is off doing something, she doesn't usually want to be bothered. Trust me. I learned that the hard way when I was five..." he trailed off in nostalgia, remembering the day he'd met the daughter of the Al Bhed leader.

That fateful day, Gippal had been wandering around the desert area near Home. He eventually reached an interesting, but beautiful water outlet. He wasn't too familiar with the term at such a ripe age, but he was pretty sure he'd overheard his parents calling a water reserve like this one an _oasis._

Curious as to what the water felt like, he wandered a few feet into its depths. The next thing he knew, he was being pulled under the surface by a strong, unknown fiend. _"AUGH!"_ Struggling under the surface of the once calm waters, Gippal tried to break free from the creature's hold. He finally managed to kick the culprit in what he assumed was its face before jumping up and out of the water. _"What the heck!"_

As he sank to his knees in the water, he had glanced behind him, jaw dropped.

"_YOU MEANIE!"_ a high-pitched voice squealed at him.

Suffice to say Gippal's memory ended with a miniature Rikku shouting at him, calling _him _a fiend, and pouncing on him, nearly causing them both to drown in the oasis waters in the process.

A few mirthful laughs escaped his lips at the funny memory. That was Cid's little girl for you. Sweet and innocent most of the time...and a deadly, volatile force when she wanted to be.

"Yeah? If you say so, I believe you," Lankya agreed with a nod. Then she sighed. "Shoot, I'm late." Leaning in for a quick peck on the cheek before departing, Lankya quickly said, "I'll see you later, Gip. Love you!"

He smiled as his girlfriend exited the room. "I...love you too," he murmured, carefully placing his hand on the cheek that had just gotten pecked.

There was still a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach, though. Where had his best friend gone off to? He'd give it another day, max.

He just hoped she came back before the day was up.

_**Seventh Heaven, Edge – Gaia**_

_Rikku_

She felt a gentle prodding on her back. "_Fryd...fryd tu oui fyhd?_" she murmured, still half asleep.

The prods continued. She rolled over in hopes of stopping the weird feeling. It didn't work. If anything, the prods were more incessant at that point.

"Um, Miss Rikku?"

Another couple of prods were felt. Rikku drearily opened her swirly green eyes, one at a time. "Huh?"

"Um...Tifa says your breakfast is gonna get too cold to taste good anymore if you don't come eat it now," a little girl voiced bravely. "Can you get up?" One final prod. "Please?"

Rikku turned her head to face the child. "Uh, sure. Give me just a second, kay?" She slowly pushed her blankets down to her feet before carefully sitting up in bed. Then, she stretched her arms over her head, a few cracks from her back resounding throughout the room.

Marlene stifled a few giggles at the sound. "Ready now?" she asked with an expectant smile.

"Chyeah!" She hopped out of bed, ready to start the new day in this new place. "Race ya!" she exclaimed, dashing through the door and down the stairs to the main bar area. "Good morning, Tifa! How are ya?" Marlene came sprinting down the stairs a few seconds later.

The barmaid glanced up from the coffee she was holding to see the two new arrivals. A warm smile graced her features. "I'm fine, Rikku. Oh, I made you scrambled eggs and toast. It's sitting on the counter over there."

"Thanks so much!" Excitement shone in Rikku's eyes, followed by a loud rumble from her tummy. "I...uh, I guess I'm really hungry, heheh." She rubbed her belly, a look of slight embarrassment on her face.

Tifa nodded knowingly, taking a sip from her decorated mug. Rikku smiled, assuming that Marlene or Denzel had probably decorated that mug as a gift for Tifa. _What a cute family._ "That's why I made it for you," the barmaid replied.

Rikku squealed in delight, running to the bar stool before starting to ravage the food in front of her. "Dissh ish shho yummeh!" She declared, mouth entirely full.

The brunette laughed at the sight. "Thanks. I'm glad you like it." Standing up from the table she was sitting at, she walked over to the Al Bhed. "I was talking to Cloud after we closed the bar last night and...well, we just want you to know that you're welcome to stay here with us as long as you need." She placed her hand on Rikku's tan shoulder in a friendly manner. "Plus, Cloud's pleased with the way Fenrir turned out. He was talking about how the engine had 'never sounded that way before,' or something to that effect."

Rikku snickered into her plate. "Ahh, Cloud thought my work was pretty awesome, did he? Good! 'Cause I worked real hard on it."

"Really?" Tifa asked, eyes widening in surprise.

Rikku smiled guiltily in response. "Uh...no. Heh, it actually didn't take that long. And it wasn't tricky for me at all," she remarked casually. "So by the time you guys were done with your dinner, I was totally done!"

Tifa nodded in understanding. "That's pretty impressive. It usually takes Cloud a day or two to fix any problems he has with Fenrir," she explained. Looking at her curiously, she asked, "Where did you learn how to work with machinery like that?"

Rikku tapped her chin in thought. "Well...I guess..." What could she say? She surely wasn't about to explain her theory of arriving here from what she assumed was a different planet (maybe even _universe_). And if she used the terms _Al Bhed_ or _machina,_ she would probably only get a blank stare in response. "I guess you could say it runs in my family." Yup. That was all she could do. It was safe to say that.

The barmaid nodded again. "Oh, okay."

"Thanks for being so nice and hospitable to me," the blonde said with a genuine smile, "but I think I should leave when I'm done with breakfast."

"What? Why!" Marlene rushed over, tugging on Rikku's frilly sleeves in disbelief. "I thought you had fun playing with Denzel and me before bed last night!"

Guilt seeped into Rikku's chest. "Oh, I did! You guys are the best, really!" She took her last bite of eggs before placing her fork and knife on the plate. Then, she hopped off the stool. "But I can't stay here any longer. I need to find what I'm lookin' for!" In other words, she needed to figure out _why _she was in this strange land, and _how _she could possibly return to Spira. Without getting anyone else involved, if she could possibly help it. "Thanks for giving me food and a place to sleep for the night. You guys are great!"

Tifa nodded once, a slightly upset look on her face. "It was no problem. I wish you were able to stay longer, though."

Rikku nodded. "Yeah...me too." Leaping forward spontaneously, she crushed Tifa into a tight hug. "I'll never forget you or your yummy cooking, Tifa." Stepping back to look down at Marlene, Rikku crouched down to give her a quick hug as well. "And I'll remember all the games you and Denzel taught me last night, I promise."

"But...but Cloud and Denzel are on a delivery right now!" Marlene proclaimed, raising a hand to her chest anxiously. "You can't leave until they get back, Rikku. They'll wanna say goodbye. I'm sure of it!"

Rikku bit her lip uneasily. She really shouldn't stay any longer than necessary. "Uh..."

"They'll be back really soon!" Marlene added with a huge, innocent smile on her face. "Please?"

_Geez, _Rikku thought nervously. ..._Oh, why not!_

"Okay!"

Marlene tackled the Al Bhed for another bear hug.

_**Shinra Headquarters, Edge – Gaia**_

_Reno_

He'd been up for most of the night, looking, researching, _digging _through everything he could get his hands on. He was working so hard for so long that his fingers were seriously cramped from typing frantically on the computer's keypad. And all of that work...all of that time...was to no avail. Reno found absolutely nothing out about Rikku.

_Nothing!_

And it honestly surprised him. With all the resources and hidden information that this company had, he was expecting to be able to find out who that girl was right after typing her name in. But nope. He got _nothing. _Then again, he wasn't exactly the most tech-savvy person working for Shinra, but still! These computers usually spoke for themselves. Reeve programmed them so pretty much anyone with the right passwords could utilize the resources...

"Dammit." He slammed his hand against the keypad angrily. But then he paused, burying his face into the palm of his hand. "Why do I even give a shit about this girl!"

He banged his other fist onto the keypad again, and this time, he broke it in half. "_Dammit!_" He stood up, glancing towards the door of his office to see if anyone had heard the commotion. "Now I gotta replace the stupid thing..."

A gentle calling startled him out of his thoughts. It was a strange noise that Reno wasn't used to hearing. He whirled around, staring at his open window to find that there was a white dove sitting there, looking around curiously. "Damn bird," he cursed before walking over to it to shoo it away. As he went to close his window, however, he spared a quick glance outside. "Well, what do you know..." he muttered as he saw something down below. "It's the cause of my frustration." His voice was filled with sarcasm.

Rikku was down at the streets below, wandering around with an inquisitive expression on her face.

If questioned as to why he rushed out of his office and down forty floors to go talk to Rikku that very moment, he would only say it was out of pure boredom.

But he would have been lying through his teeth.

…

"So we meet again," he drawled, walking up to Rikku from behind. He startled her, he noticed, because as she turned around to face him, her eyes were widened and she was gripping her chest tightly.

"Oh, it's only you!" she said, dropping her hand back to its previous position at her side. "How's it goin', Reno?" A smile had instantly appeared on her face.

Reno stuffed his hands in his pockets, looking around distractedly. "Oh, you know...the usual. _Work_." His voice was laced with contempt for what he was speaking about.

Rikku looked sympathetic. "Yuck, I'm sorry. That's too bad!" She took a few steps closer to him, tapping her cheek in thought. "But, hey, if you don't like your job, why not quit and find a new one?" The way she said it made Reno question if she was always this carefree about everything in life.

Maybe he'd get the chance to find out...

"Well, it's not that easy with my job," he stated casually. "I have what you could call...a life contract, of sorts."

The blonde tilted her head to the side, a few braids falling over her face in the process. "Whaddaya mean by that? If you _really _don't like your job, I'm sure your boss would understand!"

He shook his head. Biting back a laugh at the thought of Rufus Shinra doing anything selfless or being understanding, he replied, "Not my boss."

"Oh," Rikku said with a sigh. She looked down at her boots, kicking a random rock across the street. "Hey...so, what _is _your job, Reno?"

He suddenly stilled. At that point, Reno _knew _that Rikku was most definitely not from around here at all. She'd asked him about materia...she didn't know the name of the city...and even after seeing the infamous Turk uniform, she asked what his job was.

This girl was interesting, he thought with a smirk, even though she was completely clueless. He figured he may as well tell her what he did for a living. There was nothing to lose.

"I'm a Turk."

"You're a...wha..?" Rikku trailed off, placing her hands on her hips and looking confused. "What's that?"

"I...work for the president of the Shinra Company." He motioned to the huge building behind them. As she gazed up at its monstrous height, she promptly gasped. "We Turks pretty much do whatever he wants us to do."

_Like goddamn lapdogs, _he mentally added.

"You mean like...a butler?" she asked, voice full of interest. "Or a personal assistant?"

_You may as well call it that...we always have to clean up the shitty messes he makes with the goddamn world._

"Nah," he chose to say instead. "The Turks carry out requests that the prez makes." He found it odd that he was explaining what the Turks' jobs were. Someone was actually interested enough to ask instead of leaving their own thoughts on the subject as a downright assumption. "Usually, the missions have to do with government or political shit that needs to be dealt with."

_Like assassinations..._

"And we take care of any problematic or hazardous threats to the city," he finished with a shrug.

_Threats to the __company__, more than anything else..._

"Whoa..." Rikku's jaw dropped in awe. "It sounds like you have a pretty important job! And you seem like you're good at what you do, Reno, so...maybe you shouldn't quit after all." She glanced back up at the building again. "Your boss would really miss you working for him, I bet."

_I bet not._

He shrugged. "Who knows with Shinra. Most people can never get a clear read on him."

"Oh," she said in a soft voice before wrapping her arms around herself when a cool breeze blew past them. "I have a friend named Shinra, you know."

"You do?" Reno asked, completely shocked that she knew of the President.

"Yup!" she declared, pumping her fist into the air happily. "But...ehm, it's not the Shinra you're talking about, I don't think. Back where I'm from, Shinra is a just little ten-year-old mechanic. Heheh."

"Oh..." Reno's brow cocked. "I thought Shinra wasn't a common last name."

"Um, the boy I'm talking about...it was his first name, I think," she said with a sad look in her eye. "I love that little guy..."

_Must not be the same relation then, _Reno thought to himself.

There was an awkward silence between them as Rikku stared at her feet...and Reno stared at Rikku. "So I heard you stayed at Lockhart's place last night. Didn't know you knew them," Reno kept the conversation going. For some reason, he didn't want to stop talking to her, regardless of the subject. She was just...different.

It interested him.

It wasn't often that a girl _interested _him for anything other than sex.

Okay – scratch that – he wasn't _ever_ interested in a girl for anything other than sex.

Her eyes lit up a little bit. "Oh, you mean Tifa? Yeah, I was there last night! But I didn't know who they were before then." She seemed slightly melancholy as she spoke, which was quite a change from the chipper mood she was chronically in. "Hey...! How'd you know that?"

Reno laughed at the flabbergasted expression on Rikku's face. "Well, Tifa's place is a bar. I went there last night for a quick drink 'n' Tifa told me 'bout the motorcycle incident." Glancing down at her scarf, he smiled. "You were probably passed out upstairs. It was pretty late by the time I showed up."

She nodded a few times. "Yeah, I went to bed right after the yummy dinner they gave me. I was pretty tired..." the blonde trailed off.

Reno looked at her. Really _looked. _And what he saw surprised him.

Rikku was lost. He could read it in her eyes now. She was looking for something, but she didn't know the first place to look to find it, he thought. And for some strange reason...he wanted to help her. _What the hell?_

"Look...Rikku."

Her head snapped up to look him square in the eye. It was then that he remembered that her eyes were different, too. Those swirls...they still mesmerized him.

"Yeah?"

"I want to help you out. You obviously don't know Edge at all...and, uh, well...honestly, I feel kinda bad about your situation." He scratched the back of his head as his face warmed slightly. Why the hell was it doing that?

"Hmm, what situation do ya mean?" she asked cautiously.

He shook his head a few times, letting out an amused laugh. "Don't bother lying. I'm a Turk. I'm good at reading people and shit like that."

"Oh, well that explains how you knew I needed help then..." she trailed off, seemingly lost in thought.

Reno nodded, happy that she had just proven him correct without meaning to do so. "Yeah. So, I'm thinkin' that maybe the prez can help you out. He's pretty powerful here and he's got connections in almost every place in Gaia."

Rikku nodded. She looked a bit interested in his proposition. "You think he could help me?"

He nodded again, reaching into his pocket to grab his PHS. "For sure. Let me just check on something real q-"

A bloodcurdling scream resounded throughout the streets. Rikku flinched, looking around for the source of the sound. "Oh no! Someone's in trouble!"

"Rikku, wait! You can't just-"

She ran off, determined to help the person in need.

_Great, _Reno thought sarcastically, putting his phone away again. _Now I've got another hero to deal with... _"Rikku! Hold on-"

She was steadily getting farther and farther ahead of the Turk. He had always prided himself on being in shape and a damn fast runner...but this girl was something else. He could hardly force his legs to go any faster to keep up, if at all!

Just then, the perky blonde took a turn through an alleyway. Reno bit his lip, trying as hard as he could to catch up. By the time he had passed through the alley and onto the street on the opposite side, she was nowhere to be found."Rikku!" He looked to his left, then to his right, but to no avail. He couldn't spot her blonde hair or her toothy grin anywhere. "Well..._fuck!_"

_Rikku_

Her legs were moving of their own accord at that point. It was as if the cry for help was an electric charge in her motor! Well...in this case, the "motor" would be her _heart_, but whatever. Rikku rolled her eyes in spite of herself. Leave it to the Al Bhed princess to relate everything to machina…

"Looks like I got some more meanies to take care of," Rikku muttered to herself when she finally reached her destination. She slowed to a complete stop as she carefully stepped into a dark alleyway. Right in front of her was an older woman surrounded by two burly-looking men. "Ahem! Whatcha guys doin'?" she said in a tough voice, placing her hands on her hips.

The bigger of the two men snapped his head in her direction. "Who the hell wants to know?" As he took a small step into the light, Rikku realized that the other man had his meaty hand gripped around the panic-stricken old lady's neck.

Now was the time to hurry, Rikku thought to herself. "Well, ya see…I know for a fact that this nice lady would be greatly missed by a certain –" _Cred, what was that dude's title? _"– President," she lied through her teeth. What could she say? Lying was something the thief was good at. "Would you really wanna piss _Shinra_ off?" She took a few steps closer, smirking triumphantly because she remembered what he was called. She started to stretch out her arms. "Or do ya wanna piss off one of the Turks instead?" After giving her knuckles a quick crack, Rikku unsheathed her twin daggers.

Both men started to guffaw in a demeaning way. "You ain't no Turk, chick. Think you can handle us?" The smaller man released the lady from his hold and she stumbled to the ground, clutching one hand around her purse and the other around her neck in fear. "Cuz I ain't thinkin' you can do it, babe. But this should be fun."

Rikku snorted. _Babe?_ She wasn't expecting to actually have to fight them…but oh well. It was always nice to have a little more practice here and there. "That's funny because I _know _I can!"

The men looked at each other before dashing towards her at once.

_Reno_

His legs were burning. They _truly _felt like they were on fire. When was the last time that he'd run this fast? He couldn't remember. He was sucky in the memory department anyway. "Fuck!" he cursed for the tenth time when he still didn't see the girl anywhere. "Where–" Just as he turned another corner, he saw a blonde with twirling plaits and beads covered all around the top of her head. "Ah. Bingo." He wondered what she was doing over there, though.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he saw Rikku crouch down the slightest fraction of an inch, grabbing two daggers at the same time and spinning them around in her hands. "Fuck." His eyes widened as he tried to get his panic-stricken legs to move again. "She…better not…" Just then, he saw two burly men appear from within the dark alleyway. He could have sworn he'd seen those thugs somewhere before. They were just your typical gangsters. Well "wannabe" gangsters. "Shit!" Wannabes or not, these were men that Rikku _really _couldn't handle.

But it was too late, the gangster's first punch had already been swung.

_Rikku_

Sensing the big man's move before he even moved his arm, the Al Bhed dropped to her butt and twirled her legs around, tripping him. One backwards somersault later, Rikku was still ready to go.

The man on the ground looked up at her angrily, pounding the ground with both fists. "Nobody messes with the Fotch Brothas!" Looking back at his equally large companion, the man on the ground jumped up and ran towards her. His brother chose to do the same thing at the same time.

Rikku smirked. _These guys are too easy to read. _She sheathed her daggers again; she wouldn't be in need of them. _With a little practice, _she thought as she double-kicked both men square in the chest at the same time, using the force to do a backflip, _they could be a lot better. _The men stumbled a few steps but came charging yet again. _It's just too bad they use their strength to do such mean stuff! _

She roundhouse kicked one guy in the side of the skull, instantly causing him to drop to the ground unconscious. Turning to the only man left, Rikku smiled. She had a pretty good idea of what he was going to do: a side kick with his left leg followed by a fierce uppercut with his right arm. Rikku nodded to herself when she saw she was correct. Before the brother could even fully extend his leg completely, the Al Bhed thief took a deep breath, clenched her hands into small fists, and jabbed the sensitive area around his ankle, his knee-pit, and hip. Then as he staggered backwards, Rikku flipped over him and did the same thing to his other leg and both arms, all before he fell to the ground.

"W-What did you do to m-me! Why can't I move?" he screamed from his position on the floor. He could only dart his eyes around in confusion and lick his lips nervously. "Someone help me!"

"No one's going to help scum like you," a dark voice came from behind the two men and Rikku. She spun around, still ready to defend herself, but was surprised to see that it was just Reno. He must have followed her here. Glancing at the two men on the ground, the Turk gave a low whistle. "Damn. And I thought you were gonna need my help. My mistake," he said with a low laugh.

Rikku crossed her arms. "I can handle myself just fine."

"HELP!" the cowardly man yelled yet again.

Reno rolled his eyes. "What did I just tell you?"

Feeling a little guilty about sparring so roughly, Rikku squatted down to look the man in the face. "I'm sorry for what I did to you and your brother, but you really had it coming! You can't just hurt innocent people. Especially old ladies!" She turned to look at the elderly woman still leaning up against the alleyway wall in fear. "It's safe for you to leave now! These meanies won't be bothering you again."

She nodded as she slowly stood up, joint by joint. "May the gods look brightly upon you, young lady. Thank you so much," she said before leaving.

"No problemo," Rikku said with a smile before turning back to the scared man on the ground. "If you're worried you'll never move again, don't be. I only temporarily paralyzed you by aiming for all the weak spots you left wide open." The thief stood up, brushing dirt off her skirt. "If I see you or your brother up to no good again…" The man could only continue to cower in fear as she trailed off. There was no point in finishing the sentence.

She heard Reno approach her before a hand laid itself on her shoulder. "Let's get outta here, Rikku," Reno suggested. She was happy to comply.

_Reno_

As they walked down the streets of Edge, he kept stealing side-long glances at Rikku. Who knew that such an innocent-looking _girl _could do such extreme damage to grown men? But as every Turk should know, not everything is what it seems. And looks can most definitely be deceiving.

One thing was for sure, though. He wanted to unravel the mysterious threads that were surrounding Rikku. He wanted to figure out what was really going on with her. And why she needed help. "Hang on a sec," he told the blonde as they came to a sudden stop. "I'm gonna make that phone call I tried to make earlier. Ya know, before you ran off and played hero?"

Rikku giggled to herself, folding her arms over her chest as she watched a white bird flit past. She smiled, "Oookay then."

Reno pulled out his PHS, dialing the all-too-familiar digits into the number pad. "Elena. Put the President on."

"_Reno! Where are you? Did you-"_

"Just put him on."

He heard her let out an exasperated sigh, and he just knew that the look on her face was one of annoyance, even without seeing her face-to-face._ "You're really starting to get on my bad side, Reno."_

"Thanks," he replied. "But I thought I already was." He smirked, choosing to ignore the weird sensation in his stomach when he felt Rikku's eyes on him.

He heard a click. Then, _"What do you want now, Reno?"_

"Ah. Hey, bossman. I was wondering if you could do a small favor for me," Reno stated casually. "You see…someone I know is in a bind. And she could really use your help."

Rufus groaned_. "Reno, if this is another one of your one night stands gone bad, I refuse to take part."_

Anger seeped into the Turk's chest. Does everyone think he was still like that? It's been a _long _time since he's been with _anyone_. He couldn't even remember the last time…

"It's not…like that, boss. You know people. I figured maybe you'd know someone that she knows and you could spot her a ride home or something."

"_Why do you figure I would do something like that?"_

Reno rolled his eyes. "Quit trying to play the bad guy, Shinra. We all know you like doing good deeds now." He cleared his throat. "For the good rep, remember? And maybe there's something in it for you," he added in a low voice so he was sure Rikku wouldn't be able to overhear.

Silence.

Reno clenched his right fist in anticipation.

"…_Be at my office in ten minutes. Don't waste my time, Reno." _The PHS clicked off.

The redhead turned to face Rikku, looking pleased with himself. "Alright. Let's go."

_**Shinra Headquarters, Edge – Gaia**_

_Rikku_

"Whoa. So this is where you work, huh? I never thought the inside would be even more massive than the outside looked!" she voiced aloud as she continued to look around. She felt like a little kid in such a huge place. "So where's your office, Reno?"

The Turk spared her a quick look over his shoulder as he waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "It doesn't matter. It's nothin' special. We're here because I want you to talk to my boss." He stopped walking so he could turn around and face her. "I think he can lend you a hand."

The Al Bhed bit her lip. _I doubt he can help me. _She plastered a huge, fake smile on her face anyway. "Okay." She followed Reno up a private staircase until they reached the door to Shinra's office. She took a deep breath. _Let's hope I'm wrong._

Reno walked through the door and held it open for her.

Her jaw dropped when she saw a pristine-looking man sitting at a desk in front of them, his hands folded neatly in front of him. He had piercing ocean blue eyes, a perfectly symmetrical, handsome face, and smooth, blond hair brushed out of the way of his eyes. She felt brush crawl down her cheeks and to her neck a little bit. She hadn't seen a man this attractive since Gip_**–**_

Well, it didn't matter what the comparison was. He was hot.

"U-U-Umm..." she stuttered.

Reno stepped in after closing the door securely behind him. "Sir, this is Rikku. The girl I was telling you about."

The President stood up and gestured towards them. "Please. Don't be shy. Come in. You are a guest here."

Rikku noticed Reno rolling his eyes as she walked closer to Shinra's desk.

"I am Rufus Shinra. How can I be of service to you?" he spoke in a voice tinged with charisma. When Rikku didn't respond, he looked at Reno to clarify. "You are here because you need a favor, correct?"

"Yeah, she needs a favor. I was hoping to know exactly what she needed help with too," Reno stated, glancing over at the Al Bhed.

_What am I supposed to say! Cred, cred, cred, cred, cred, cred, cred, cr__**–**_

"My, my, my." Rufus' voice broke through her nervous inner mantra. He walked around his desk and straight to her so they were face to face. "What beautiful eyes you have, Miss Rikku. They are like nothing I've ever seen before." Reno let out a huge snort in the background.

She laughed nervously. "Eheh, thanks?"

"I think I understand that you are in trouble, but you cannot speak of what it entails necessarily. Would you be willing to accept the protection and security I can provide for you? Until you are safe enough to journey to where you need to go, that is," Rufus proposed.

Rikku smiled. _Why not? _She figured she could do some research, dig here and there and find out a way to get back to Spira in the meantime! "That would be nice, Mr. President."

"Oh, please," he chastised, "call me Rufus." Shinra grabbed her hand so he could plant a light and tender kiss upon it.

The blonde Al Bhed was blushing up a storm, her heart was working in overdrive, and she couldn't find the words to say in response to this incredibly attractive man. "Eh…heh…"

"As for protection, I'm sure Reno would be happy to be a bodyguard of sorts during your stay in Edge," Rufus stated. "Correct, Reno?"

Reno's jaw dropped. "Um, she can take care of herself, yo. She took down two huge gangsters in less than five minutes." He glanced over at the young blonde with calculating eyes. He seemed to be thinking intently, as if he was unsure about something. "But I'll be her 'bodyguard' if you want me to, _sir_," he replied reluctantly.

Rikku's heart gave an uneasy thump against her chest. She wondered why he sounded so unwilling all of a sudden.

"Thank you, Reno." Rufus turned back to Rikku, smirking when he noticed he caused her to blush again.

The redhead dropped his eyes to the floor. "Yeah, sure thing," he murmured. "_Boss._"

Rufus Shinra nodded slowly, eyes glancing over Rikku's form once more. "Well, I have work that I need to attend to," he stated as he walked back over to his desk.

That must have been their cue to leave because before she even knew it, Rikku's arm was being tugged in the direction of the door by an annoyed-looking Reno.

_**Apt. 539, Edge – Gaia**_

_Reno_

"It's nothin' special," Reno drawled lazily as he plopped down onto his favorite loveseat. Er…his _only _loveseat. "Make yourself at home for the time being, yo."

Out of the corner of his eye, the Turk noticed Rikku looking around curiously, a small smile on her face and her hands on her hips. "Yo?"

"Yes," Reno said. "I say it sometimes. So what?" He closed his eyes and got into a more comfortable position on his chair. His eyes snapped open when he realized something incredibly strange. "Fuck!" he yelled.

Rikku skipped over. "Whoa! What? What's wrong?"

Reno shook his head several times, feeling his temples lightly as if there had been a mistake.

…

…

…

Nope. No mistake. Reno didn't have a migraine. Or any trace of a headache. At all.

"What the fuck," he muttered again. The redhead quickly stood up as he shrugged his jacket off and sighed. _Go with the flow. _"Whatever works, yo," he murmured as he glanced at Rikku, who was staring at him in confusion.

"You're kinda weird, you know?" She had a little smirk on her face. "Bad language for no good reason..." The blonde started to hum to herself, walking towards the kitchen as though she had lived there longer than Reno had. "Got any good food?" she asked as she opened up the fridge.

Reno sauntered over and laughed darkly when he noticed her face fall. "Nothin' but beer in there. I call in food when I get hungry." He tossed her a list of his favorite food places with the numbers. "Do whatever you want."

She bit her lip. Reno couldn't help but notice that she looked upset about something. "Uh…Rikku?" he probed.

"Why have you been such a meanie ever since we talked to Rufus!" she said in as loud a voice as she could muster, a hurt expression still on her face. "You made me sit in your office while you worked ALL day and it was really boring! You coulda at least introduced me to people, you know. Or acknowledged that I was sitting right next to you…" she trailed off with a pout.

The redhead scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Uh. Well…I didn't…you…uh…" There was no way that Reno could explain himself. Yeah, he was grumpy. Yeah, he was pissed. He thought he had every right to be! He was sick of his job, sick of his stupid boss, sick of everything in that building and in his godforsaken life. And just when something good turns up out of nowhere, Rufus has to plant his slimy hands all over it.

All over Rikku.

And she didn't even notice.

"_Thanks, Reno. Now I understand what you meant about there being…'something in it for me,'" Rufus had discreetly told the Turk just before he had left the office that evening._

Reno felt sick to his stomach. Rufus knew that the Turk had not meant for the phrase to be interpreted in that way.

"Well?" Rikku asked, crossing her arms as she started to tap the floor with her foot in impatience.

"I…I'm…sorry," he managed to stammer out awkwardly. When was the last time he had apologized for anything? He couldn't remember. "I told you I didn't like my job."

Rikku's face softened considerably. She uncrossed her arms and took a step closer to Reno, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I wish you would explain why." Reno's face darkened as he turned away, and he heard the blonde clear her throat awkwardly. "I mean, uh, I know we just met and all…" She skipped to the side so she was facing the Turk again. "But we're friends, right?"

Something fluttered in Reno's stomach. It was strange. He had no idea what it was so he just ignored it. "Eh, yeah. We're friends. But my life story isn't something you'd wanna hear, yo. It's boring," he explained. "And fucked up," he said under his breath.

Rikku shook her head stubbornly. "Trust me, I've seen and heard a _lot_. I'm sure it's really interesti_**–**_"

"FUCK! Just leave it the hell alone!" He balled his hands into fists. "Please. Just…" Reno trailed off when he saw the look in Rikku's eyes.

The blonde was slowly backing away, hurt written all over her face. "Gosh," she sniffled into her frilly sleeve, "meanie…"

Before Reno could say another word, Rikku ran into _his _bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

"That went well." His voice was sardonic to the brim. Feeling his PHS start to vibrate in his pant pocket, he whipped it out. "What do you want?"

Rufus' calm voice came through the speaker._ "To talk to Rikku actually," _he said with a slow laugh.

Reno glanced at his bedroom door with steadily increasing rage. He knew this was going to happen. Rufus was too predictable, the damn scumbag. "That's too bad. She's already asleep, bossman. Sorry." He was just about to hang up, but the calm voice continued on.

"_Then just pass along this message: dinner tomorrow night. I expect to see her at the Celadon Castle at 7. You will be her consort for the day. Take her shopping. Get her whatever she wants. Tell her to dress formally."_

It never ceased to amaze Reno how damn bossy Rufus Shinra _always _was. He opened his mouth to say something in reply, but the line was already dead. Rufus hung up on him.

"Damn. I really hate my job," he grumbled to himself. "Since when have I been a goddamn _consort_ for anyone?" He shuffled over to his bedroom door, slowly and quietly creaking it open. Poking his head inside, he couldn't help but allow a small smile to appear on his face at the sight.

Rikku was sprawled across his entire bed, fast asleep, mouth agape, drooling onto his pillow.

It was…almost cute.

He shook his head, closing the door and walking back towards his favorite chair. That was where he slept every night anyway.\

_Alrighty...so there's ya go! Chapter 2. I would love some feedback to see how I'm doing! Thanks in advance :) See ya next chapter._


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